


fallen hero

by Ikuna



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bisexual Richie Tozier, But he's working on it, Eddie is a Badass, Fluff and Angst, Gay Eddie Kaspbrak, M/M, Mutual Pining, Panic Attacks, Self-Hatred, based on fallen hero: rebirth, fallen hero au, hero/villain au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-02-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:01:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22610671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ikuna/pseuds/Ikuna
Summary: “Eddie?”The voice startles him so badly he jumps a little, the hot liquid spilling onto his fingers, but Eddie doesn’t even feel it - when was the last time someone called him by that name and not just his identification number? “Uh-” Eddie can’t help but stutter, so caught off guard. Shit, this was not good - he didn’t even hear any straying thoughts -“Holy shit, it’s really you, Eds.” The voice was so familiar, the sound of it causes blood to rush into Eddie’s head, he forces himself to look up, meeting brown eyes Eddie had committed to memory long ago.Richie Tozier. Rush - his ex-partner and the one man he never thought he'd see again.
Relationships: Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 11
Kudos: 73





	fallen hero

**Author's Note:**

> Just want to make this clear before anyone starts and gets confused!
> 
> Lady Flame - Beverly  
> Harbinger - Ben  
> Titan - Bill

The first hit is unexpected and  _ hard _ . Much more powerful than what he was expecting - he wasn’t prepared for the hit, it sending him stumbling, losing his footing he crashes through a wall, groaning at the impact. Thankfully it doesn’t hurt as much as it could - as it would, if he were in his own body, and no possessing Lady Flame. She was durable, way more durable than Eddie was, his own form more suitable for quick action rather than heavy blows, but that’s why he’s borrowed hers.

Harbinger floats not too far away, hands outstretched and placating. “Lady Flame, let’s talk this out -  _ please. _ ” From what Eddie can see, his eyes are wide and earnest. Harbinger doesn’t wear a mask, most of the Rangers didn’t, not like Eddie did - but he was never a part of the team. Separate. A vigilante. 

Most of the time, anyways. 

He never worked with Harbinger, back in his day. He was the fresh face of the team, the media adored his soft-eyed, and handsome face - chiseled jawline and all, the guy really won the lottery. Not to mention his kind smile. A smile that Slipstream - that  _ he _ never had.

Eddie shakes his head slightly, he needs to concentrate. Tucked under one of Lady Flame’s arms is a box he had been intending to steal more stealthily, he wasn’t expecting Harbinger to make an appearance, even if it was just a friendly question, remarking on what she was doing - he panicked, hitting him square in the jaw, deciding to make a run for it. She has enhanced speed and strength to go along with her powers over flames and fire.

Eddie smiles, and in response so does his stolen body, her lips quirking up in the corners menacingly, head bowed. He has a plan.

“What’s gotten into you, Flame?” He floats closer, his feet hovering but a few inches above the ground, good. He needs to get closer, needs to get comfortable. “Are you okay?” His voice is soft and calm, Eddie almost laughs. He kind of wishes that Marshal Titan was here instead. He was colder, and Eddie knew him. He knew Bill, knew what he could and would do - Harbinger and Lady Flame were different. They were new, but Eddie did his research, he always did. 

“No…” He groans out, it’s fake of course. He reaches up, grabbing Lady Flame’s head, brushing aside her red hair. “It… hurts... I-”

Harbinger leans in close enough that Eddie can see his piercing blue eyes, all full of sympathy. So predictable. “Hey, it’s oka-”

Eddie doesn’t give him the time to finish his sentence, he lifts Lady Flame’s arm, the one not carefully cradling the box he put in all this effort to steal, and smashes it into Harbinger’s groin, he goes down, hard. Eddie almost winces in sympathy, but he doesn’t have time. 

He gets to his feet, sprinting passed the fallen Ranger and to one of the exits - he mapped out the place before, he knows where each and every exit leads to, and this one leads to a small alley, small enough that there are no camera’s watching, he made sure of that.

Thankfully it’s empty, he carefully deposits the black box in one of the trash cans, quickly pushing more trash on top, just in case someone were to walk by before he could get back to it. 

Then he’s off again, sprinting out of the alley and onto the street. It’s chaos, it always is. Red and blue lights flash, signaling the LDPD’s presence, and of course, standing next to one of the officers is Marshal Titan - looking big, bigger than he was in the past with his souped out suit of armor. All reinforced steel and hard lines, it wasn't beautiful by any means, but it was functional and was good at scaring criminals, but not Eddie. Eddie knew who he was under all that armor though, Bill Denbrough. They used to be friends, once upon a time.

Lady Flame’s heart skipped a beat as if it were Eddie’s own, and Eddie can’t help but wonder if she could take him. Metal v.s. Fire, who would win?

He looked older, now. His brown hair streaked with grey, hard lines on his forehead and around his eyes. He hadn’t taken the title of Marshal easy, huh?

Eddie feels his breath catch as Titan looks up, his piercing blue eyes meeting Lady Flame’s green ones. 

Nope. Fuck that, he can’t do this. 

He slips out of her mind, his vision spiraling like vertigo as he rejoins his own body. An immediate sense of nausea fills him, Eddie stumbles up from bed, barely making it to the bathroom in time to throw up into the toilet bowl. He shudders, full body. 

The vertigo was common, but the nausea he should’ve seen coming, Lady Flame was strong. She had a strong mind, a strong will - the harder it was to control people, the worse the experience was after leaving their body. 

Eddie sighed, flushing the toilet and closing the lips with a dull  _ ‘thud’ _ . He wanted nothing more than to take a cold shower and take a long nap, but his plan wasn’t done. He needed that box, and fast before the scene got too chaotic. 

He pulls himself off of the hotel’s bathroom floor, doing his best not to think about what kind of gross germs he just sat in (he paid for a pretty upscale hotel, one where he hopes the staff would be more discreet about who was checking in and out, not that it really matters, he plans on wiping their minds clean of him when he checks out, but still. It’s the principle of thing, cover your tracks and all that. Villain 101, right?

He throws on his old, dark red hoodie and a pair of nondescript sunglasses, grabbing his black backpack as he goes. 

He could possess a passerby to grab the box. It was risky going himself, he knows that Bill is there. Who knows if any of the old crew would show up on the scene, too? After all, one member just attacked another - Eddie just prays that Tozier doesn’t show up, not this time. Not today. Eddie doesn’t know if he’d be able to deal with that. 

Not that they would recognize him, c’mon. It’s been over seven years since the incident, and he’d only worked with the Rangers a handful of times, he was never full time. There’s no way they’d remember what he looked like - he’d changed a lot over the years.

Despite all the dangers, it really just boils down to the fact that possessing Lady Flame was hard and exhausting. He doesn’t want to risk possessing someone else, he’s had enough throwing up for one day. 

So on he goes, diverting the attention of the staff with ease as he walks out the doors into the Los Diablos smoggy sunshine. It was sweltering out, but Eddie didn’t dare take-off -  _ couldn’t  _ take it off. So he marched on.

He picked a hotel about two blocks away, easy enough for him to possess Lady Flame from the safety of his hotel room, because once he took over someone's body, entered their minds - his own was left empty. Can’t just leave himself on the side of the building, he’s not an idiot. 

Walking to the dump sight is easy enough, there was enough commotion for him to slip into the crowd, blend in. The crowd gets thicker as he gets closer, Eddie subconsciously adjusts his sunglasses, making sure they’re there. 

He can see Titan, standing tall among the crowd, it was hard to miss his armored body. He had a familiar frown etched on his lips, as he talked with one of the LDPD officers, probably the chief, from the look of him. Eddie didn’t think many would be brave enough to have an argument, not when he was suited up, anyways. 

At his feet was the familiar body of Lady Flame, lying prone and wrapped in a carbon knit blanket, it would keep her from using her fire powers if she woke up, Eddie thinks. Should be out for a little while longer, though. 

Eddie wasn’t stupid enough to stick around, despite his curiosity about what they were planning on doing with the red-haired woman, as far as they knew she had attacked a member of her own team.

He turned away, eager to avoid the sight of Marshal Titan. Eddie makes it to the trash can easily, the alley still empty. And with some digging, he finds the slick black box, small enough for him to fit it in his backpack easily, safely. Making sure the coast is clear, he heads back to his hotel room.

A cold shower and change of clothes later, he’s leaving the room, blankets tucked back in, towels folded in a neat pile and left on the marble counter top in the bathroom for the housekeepers later. 

It isn’t difficult to make the workers forgot about him, to make himself blend in with the rest of society, hood drawn up, shoulders hunched in. He was practically invisible, and he didn’t even need to be boosted. Not the way Lady Flame was - you see, in the world, there were two ways to get superpowers, the first and most dangerous was boosting - a drug from the ’80s, long banned because of its high death rate (95%) but some people were crazy enough to try it.

Others were modded, enhanced, like Marshal Titan - like Bill. It was expensive and the upkeep was intense, especially as a hero or villain, where injuries were far more common and parts had to be upgraded or replaced regularly. As such, the powers they got were generally more standard - enhanced strength, speed, durability, etc. Eddie could almost guarantee that Harbinger was boosted, power of flight? Now  _ that’s  _ rare, almost as rare as Eddie’s telepathy. 

Not that he was boosted.

But back when he was on duty, that’s what he let them believe. It was safer that way. 

It’s not long before Eddie finally arrives at his own apartment, he’s sweaty once again, the Los Diablos heat wasn’t one to be reckoned with, but Eddie didn’t dare reveal what was beneath his sleeves, not in public. 

Still, though. He’s bone-tired. He can feel the call of sleep in the drops of his eyelids, heavy and dry. Taking off the red hoodie, he drops it carefully on the entry table before making his way to his own bed. He needed a few hours of rest.

Sleep embraces him almost as soon as his head hits the pillow, but it’s not dreamless.

It’s a familiar scene. 

_ “We need to move!” Someone yells from your right, no, not just someone it was Tozier. His voice is familiar and grounding, seeping over Eddie like cold water, shocking him into action. “Pay attention, Sidestep! Head outta the clouds - there we go.” Eddie’s gaze shifts over to Tozier, who’s crouched low next to him, he’s grinning - he’s always grinning, that’s how Eddie knows Tozier’s winning a fight (or thinks he’s winning), that smug grin pulling against the corners of his lips.  _

_ He doesn’t wear a mask, not like Eddie does, he doesn’t care who sees his face. The sun is shining harshly against his pale skin, which glowed almost like marble, a stark contrast to Eddie’s own skin, freckled and tan. He’s wearing a pair of black rimmed goggles, most people thought they were blocking out any high winds or debris when fighting, but in reality, Tozier was blind as a fucking bat, a fact that amused Eddie to no end, something that Eddie always teased him about. His dark, curly hair is unruly as ever. _

_ But he’s right, Eddie really needs to keep his head focused, mind clear. They were really in a tight spot, he couldn’t afford to not pay attention. _

_ “Get down!” Eddie yells at Tozier, who dutifully obeys. Not moments later a hole was blown where Tozier just was. In the distance, Eddie could hear the mad cackling of one Henry Bower, also known as Psychopather, a man who the Ranger’s had more than one dealings with. He was why you were here, one of the only other telepaths in the game, and a dangerous one. _

_ Tozier whistled, low and impressed, looking up at the whole. “I owe you one, Slip.” He’s still grinning, Eddie doesn’t think he knew what the words “danger” actually meant.  _

_ Eddie rolls his eyes, not that Tozier can see, because - mask. “You owe me way too many, Tozier.” Tozier chuckles at the dig, and Eddie can’t help but smile, too. “When’s backup arriving? We’re pushed back into a corner right now.” They didn’t have a good vantage point on Psychopather, who had the high ground, not to mention quite the arsenal of weapons.  _

_ “Ah - you see, my dear Slipstream, we are the backup. Both Titan and Anathema are down an out, everyone else is up North helping with quake relief. It’s just you and me.” Tozier grins at Eddie, who - despite himself, can feel his cheeks heat up, he was glad he wore a mask. “So, it would really be helpful if you would just, y’know, officially join the team?” Eddie can tell he’s trying to keep his tone light and playful, but Eddie just looks away.  _

_ This is far from the first time Tozier had asked him to join the Rangers, and it won't be the last. Part of Eddie wants to. He wants to be able to rely on the team, wants to be able to trust them the way they trust each other - but it was dangerous. Eddie couldn’t risk joining the Rangers, it would be way too much publicity for him, and he was technically on the run.  _

_ “You already know the answer to that.” Eddie says, keeping his voice steady. They start to crawl again, trying to get closer to the rampaging telepath.  _

_ “C’mon, Slip! You’re practically a member of the team already, you would just have to make it official.”  _

_ “I don’t want to make it official, Rich. I like being a vigilante. I like what I do.” It was a decent excuse, but mostly it was because you needed to do a background check in order to join the Rangers. And Eddie’s background was a little… complicated.  _

_ While they crawled, Eddie made sure to keep his guard up, listening with his telepathy - and, there! He holds out an arm in front of Tozier, who stops crawling. Another hole is blown into the side of the tunnel, right where they were about to crawl. _

_ They really shouldn’t be having this conversation right now.  _

_ “What’s the plan?” Tozier asks, glancing at Eddie. _

_ There were two options, as far as Eddie was concerned. They couldn’t face him head-on, and they weren’t making any progress with trying to get closer, one of them needed to cause a distraction, while the other hit hard. Eddie told Richie as much, who hums in response.  _

_ “I’m quicker, I’ll be the distraction,” Richie says, Eddie rolls his eyes, of course he’d volunteer for the dangerous role.  _

_ “My name is literally Slipstream. Being fast is literally my thing, asshole.” Eddie argues. _

_ “Yeah, but I’m not a telepath, I can’t help you if I’m hidden.” He had a point. “I’ll just run him ragged while you go all -” he makes a vague gesture around his head, “mind crazy on his ass.”  _

_ “Fine, just be careful,” Eddie says, after a moment of pause. “He has a weapon that can predict movements -” _

_ “Yeah, yeah, I’ll be safe, blah blah.” Eddie frowned at Tozier’s carefree attitude, but what was he going to do about it? That’s always how he is, and he has good reasons for it, he supposes. He’s only ever lost one fight, after being in the game for six years so far. “See you in a minute?”  _

_ Eddie sighs, “yeah. See you in a minute.” Eddie shouldn’t be worried about him, but he couldn’t help it. Richie jumps out of the hole Psychopather just blew into the side, rolling impressively and dodging another blast.  _

_ “There you are, fucker!” Eddie hears Psychopather yell out, enraged.  _

_ “Took you long enough, bitch!” Tozier yells back, Eddie doesn’t suppress his snort before closing his eyes, and concentrating on gently poking at Bowers’ mind with his own, careful not to give himself away, but trying to give Tozier a big enough opening.  _

_ Tozier was dodging the blasts from Psychopather’s canon, edging closer and closer, but the progress was slow, Eddie needed to do more, to help more - he reaches into Psychopather a little bit more - but, fuck! _

_ It was too deep too quickly, Eddie could feel Psychopather’s endless rage, consuming Eddie for just a moment, but it was a moment too long. Eddie made him mad, he wasn’t quick enough as Psychopather pointed the canon at his not so hidden spot, and fired. Eddie was launched into the air in a fiery explosion, thankfully his suit was pretty well designed, it took the majority of the impact from the initial blast, as well as when Eddie hit the ground. _

_ Eddie groaned, he needed to get up, he had to get away, Psychopather knew where he was - but he was stuck under pieces of very heavy metal, his leg was pinned. Eddie tugged desperately at his leg, ignoring the pain sprouting from it. He could feel Psychopather making his way towards him, he needed to go - Psychopather’s cackling laughter filled the air, fuck, fuck, fuck - Eddie really was going to die. He was going to die alone, stuck under metal when it was his own fault - he was naive, oh so naive, thinking this was a good idea, that a team was a good idea - _

Eddie wakes up with a start, gasping for air painfully, tangled in his sheets, constricted and hot. 

It was just a nightmare. 

He catches his breath, sitting up in bed. There was no pain in his leg, no Psychopather to scare the shit out of him, no Richie, just himself in his lonely, empty apartment. Good. As far as nightmares go, that one was pretty tame. Tozier saved you, after all. 

His apartment was still dark. Eddie glances over to the alarm clock next to his bed, it was the early morning. The sun would be rising soon, there was no point in trying to get any sleep, he had things to do. 

First, he needed to wash all the sweat off of him. Carefully avoiding the mirrors, Eddie opts to shower in the dark. It was more relaxing, and Eddie needed to relax, his heart still pounding in his chest.

Next was the easy part, he lied back down on his bed. The things he had planned required anonymity. He couldn’t parade around the underworld looking like himself, not this early. Although it’s been seven years since he was in the hero scene and he wore a mask, it was too much of a risk. 

So he found a body. It was empty, having been in a coma for 2 years at a nearby hospital. It was a young woman with bright, blond hair and blue eyes. She had to next of kin, no family listed or ever visited, no friends - she was perfect for what Eddie needed. And what he needed was a puppet, another mask to wear to work in the underworld while his own body was safe in bed. Eddie made sure there was no way for her to wake up - there wasn’t a single trace left of who she was before, in her mind. It was empty.

He named her Myra. He found the name while browsing a baby name site online, it was interesting enough for people to remember, but not so unique where people would suspect it is a fake.

She ‘lives’ in an apartment upstairs from Eddie’s own. Eddie had no problem with money, it was easy enough to embezzle from the rich downtown - he’s heard enough of their thoughts to not feel bad about it. It was Los Diablos, no one got their money from being upstanding citizens. Sometimes it was theft of their own, murder, drugs - you name it. Eddie didn’t feel bad tricking them into giving him some of what they didn’t deserve. 

Eddie got her into shape after being in a coma for so long, swimming and boxing were his favorites, he took her shopping to make sure she was dressing well enough to fool people, made sure she was taken care of. It was better than rotting away on a hospital bed, empty and lonely. 

Slipping into her mind was as easy as slipping into his favorite red sweater, he was used to it by now, there was no resistance. 

Joes was where he spent most of his time as Myra. It was sort of a villainous bar, off the books of course. Like any sort of decent establishment, it was outfitted with numerous expensive psychic dampeners, which made it impossible for Eddie to use his telepathy, as well as potentially giving him a huge migraine. It was all well and good, Myra was a people person, Eddie was not. And to get anywhere in the world, you needed to be a people person.

Eddie saunters into the bar, wearing Myra’s body, the black box stashed in her purse. It was easy to spot who they were having a meeting with - tucked into a small corner was Dr. Uris. Easy to spot with his crisp, white lab coat. He had a heat of neat, dark curls and was nursing a glass of what looked like bourbon. 

The Doctor was infamous in the community. Kind of a wild card, neither a hero nor a villain. He worked for cash or what interested him, he was a genius, of course. No matter what kind of digging Eddie did, he was never able to find out his first name, all records of his previous life erased, of course. But, he seemed trustworthy. A loner, like Eddie was. And maybe that made him a little sentimental. Regardless, he was the best in the business. 

Myra walks over, Eddie makes sure she’s wearing a smile - if it were Eddie doing the smiling, he was sure it’d come off as fake, or stilted, but with Myra it was effortless. “Dr. Uris,” He looks up, and smiles, it’s quick and muted, but genuine, Eddie thought. Eddie didn’t have any use of his telepathy in Myra’s body, even if there were no psychic dampeners here. He was pretty much blind when he was in his puppet. 

“Ah, Myra. Good to see you again,” Dr. Uris says, standing up to greet her, they shake hands before sitting back down. 

“Always a pleasure, Dr. Uris.” They had been working together for a few months now, making plans, they’d gotten to know each other pretty well - well, Eddie had gotten to know Dr. Uris and he got to know Myra. He had no clue about Eddie, of course. As far the Doctor knew, Myra was acting on the orders of her mysterious boss. “And I brought you a present,” she takes out the box, Eddie watches with amused glee as Dr. Uris’ eyes widen in wonder. 

“Your boss?” He asks, holding his hands out across the table, looking at the box. 

Myra hums, “of course. It was easy.” And it really was. 

Dr. Uris scoffs through his nose, brow raised in amusement. “Maybe one day I’ll get to meet this mysterious boss of yours.” 

“Maybe. But they like their privacy.” Myra says, which was true. The last thing he wanted was for more people to know about him. He didn’t need that kind of attention.

“Of course, may I?” He gestures to the box, Myra nods with a smile, sliding the box across the table gently. He unlocks the heavy box with calculated ease, his light brown eyes giving away nothing - not until the box opens with a hiss do his eyes widen, a smile growing on his lips. “Do you have any idea what this is?” Eddie tries not to take offense at the condescending question, but it’s a fair one. 

“Kind of?” Myra says with a shrug. It wasn’t her job to know things, as far as Dr. Uris needed to know. 

“A colony of nanovores. Dangerous little buggers, and very forbidden.” Eddie knew that much, of course. Those things had wreaked havoc on the coast about a decade ago, thousands and thousands had been killed. Dr. Uris’ eyes slowly looked up, meeting Myra’s blue ones. “Where on earth did you get something like this?” 

“My boss doesn’t tell me where they get the things they get.” That seems to convince the Doctor enough, or he was distracted enough by the nanovores to not really care what Myra had to say. “The important thing is, can you neuter them?” That was the important part. Those little robot bugs had a need for human flesh. Eddie would know, he was the one that put them away 10 years ago, after all.

Eddie didn’t want to kill people, at least not innocent people. But they could be very useful if only Dr. Uris could make them crave inorganic matter instead. 

“Of course I can.” He was confident, shutting the box with a click. “It’s just a matter of reprogramming, nothing more. The hard part will be controlling them.” He looks at Myra, his gaze piercing. Eddie could tell he was trying to figure them out, he’d been very good at keeping his secrets so far, but being open enough where Dr. Uris was comfortable working with him.

“So I gathered,” Myra replies easily, a small smile on her lips. They look at each other for a moment, quiet among the large, rowdy bar. Dr. Uris breaks the somewhat tense moment with a snort. 

“Four weeks,” he replies, taking a sip from his bourbon. “I’ll have it done in four weeks.” 

“Deal.” Myra smiles.

  
  
  
  
  


Two weeks later, it's a warm, dark night. Eddie’s in a different body, not Myra’s, she’s too important, just a random trucker he found on the side of the road. He’d only be using the body for a few minutes. He couldn’t make the call as himself, he’d be recognized. This time it wasn’t his rampant paranoia, but a fact. They’d recognize him and come get him, he couldn’t let that happen. 

He’s standing on a bridge, clutching the trucker’s phone in his hand, hesitating. His hand trembles a little as the phone unlocks, the facial recognition recognizing his face. He shakes his head, he can do this - he has to do it. There was no other way. 

Taking a deep breath, Eddie punches in the number he knows by heart, hitting the green button before he could get cold feet. It rings for half a moment before a voice answers, filling his ear. “Yes?”

Crisp, clean, familiar. 

Memories of white walls and the sterile smell of room fills his nose, almost making him gag -

Eddie has to get his breathing under control, panicking. He  _ can  _ do this. 

“Hello?” The voice asks once more,

“Psychopather is in a warehouse at the pier. Warehouse 43.” He thinks he manages to keep his voice steady, he gulps, his throat dry.

“Who are you-”

“He won't be here for long.” He hangs up with a shudder, closing his eyes for just a moment. He didn’t have time to waste. He drops the phone in the ravine below, he feels a little badly about it, but oh well, when Eddie leaves this body, he’d just think he was being clumsy and tripped, dropping his phone in the water. He’d be annoyed, but if that was the least of his problems, he didn’t have a bad life. 

Leaving the body behind, he returns to his own, vertigo causing him to lose the contents of his stomach in a nearby bush - he came prepared with a bottle of water a stick of gum, Eddie cringes internally, as much as he wanted to brush his teeth, he really didn’t have time. He’d only have one shot at this. 

Psychopather wasn’t a hard guy to find if you knew where to look. He was in and out of mental institutions, in between arrests - the guy was crazy, but he was good. He was never held for long, his most recent escape was just a few months ago, after a 4-year long stint in the Los Diablos Asylum. He’d been holed up here ever since, not the most creative bases, but useful to Eddie. 

He was just as formidable as he was a decade ago, Eddie knew, and as such - he’d need help distracting the villain so Eddie could steal what he needed from the telepath. So, who did he call?

The Re-Genes, of course. Unlike those who were enhanced or modded with technology, and certainly different from those who took the Boost drug, braving death in order to get superpowers, the Re-Genes were supposedly not human, not at the core. They were created, their skin a pale blue, with bright tattoos covering their skin. they could look human, but how could you put a soul into a machine? You can create something that looked human, you could clone and modify humans - but you couldn’t just create a human. They were born, not made.

Supposedly, anyway. 

They were dangerous, more powerful than even the Boosted, that's why the Government kept them usually overseas, fighting wars. However, sometimes they would operate on US soil if the danger were big enough. 

What is a bigger danger than one of the most prolific, dangerous Villains of all time?

So Eddie called them in. 

He just hoped it wasn’t the wrong decision. He had enough of those to last a lifetime.

  
  
  


_ Seven years ago, a force like no other had spread across the United States. It wasn’t like anything anyone had ever seen. The suicide rate had skyrocketed by 1000%, people were panicking, and rightfully so. They were tracking the incidents, and there was a steady line heading down south.  _

_ The deaths were strange and frightening, cars crashing purposefully into each other, piling up on freeways, large groups of unrelated individuals jumping from buildings and bridges, it wasn’t until a cop pulled out his gun on national T.V., shooting himself in the temple, did the Government send in the Rangers.  _

_ By that time it had taken root in the southern suburbs of Los Diablos, in an apartment building. The force was growing stronger, anyone in a block radius would try to kill themselves, the LDPD did their best to evacuate the area, but many weren’t lucky. _

_ “Can you just like, back off? Please?” Eddie mutters, rubbing his temple, casting a glare at Bill, whose armor was outfitted with telepathic dampeners, great for him - it’d prevent whoever or whatever was causing all of this chaos from entering his mind, but all it did was give Eddie a big, fat headache.  _

_ Bill lifts up his hands in response, taking a single step away from Eddie, who rolls his eyes. Like a single step was going to help, but he bit his tongue, he could see Tozier’s lips pursing together, he didn’t like it when Eddie got all snappy at Bill.  _

_ “C’mon, Slipstream - he’s just trying to keep us safe!” Legion says with a carefree smile, also known as Betty Ripsom. She was boosted, and now invulnerable, that’s why she was included on their little team. Even if whatever it was got to her, she’d be fine - Eddie had seen her get hit with all sorts of death-causing things, and she always walked away with a smile on her face.  _

_ Eddie let out a sigh, not wanting to argue with her. A large hand claps down on Eddie’s shoulder, he looks up, meeting Tozier’s brown eyes, somewhat hidden by his oversized black goggles. “We don’t have a choice, Slip.”  _

_ Richie Tozier was immune to telepathy, Eddie found that out early on. No one outside of him and the rest of the Rangers knew that, of course. It was a secret advantage they kept close to their chests. Something happened when he was a kid, Tozier told him once, in between missions. There was an accident, and he had to have brain surgery and there was a metal plate in his head.  _

“Right here,” he said with a grin, pointing to the right side of his skull. Eddie furrowed his brow, leaning forward and reaching up, he brushed past Richie’s finger, Eddie’s fingertips gently grazed Richie’s scalp, feeling for any sort of scar or wound. There was none that he could find, only the soft feeling of Richie’s curly, black hair. 

Richie held still, Eddie wasn’t even sure if he was breathing. “I don’t feel anything,” he muttered, pulling back. Richie was staring at him wide-eyed and red-faced, frozen for a moment, before clearing his throat.

“Um, well, my dad was filthy rich so he paid top dollar for good skin grafts, didn’t want his only son looking like a freak, I guess.” He chuckled at his own bad joke, and Eddie rolled his eyes. He doubted that Tozier would look any different than he did now, even if he had a scar on his head. 

“Tough luck about that, huh?” Eddie teased back, Tozier put a hand over his heart, gasping.

“Ouch!” He yelled with a laugh, Eddie joined in.

_ Eddie shakes his head, he needed to stay present. His mental shields were carefully knit today, as tight and strong as he could manage. There really was a headache blooming, but it was low enough where he could manage it. “Yeah, I get it, Tozier, but I don’t have to like it.” Eddie said, crossing his arms over his chest, Richie was looking down at him in a way Eddie didn’t like, so he pulled away, making himself busy by looking around (at anything but Richie).  _

_ “What if we drove a truck up the stairs, huh?” Betty said with a wicked grin, teasing Richie.  _

_ “I drove a motorcycle downstairs, completely different thing, Legion.” Richie grinned as Betty giggled.  _

_ “We should really get moving, Marshal.” Bill chimed in.  _

_ “Yeah, yeah, Titan, keep it in your pants, we’re going.” They started moving, one step at a time, towards the building.  _

_ “I really think we should’ve had the whole team in on this…” she muttered, looking at the ground, which was littered with dead and broken bodies - most people in this area had either been hit by cars or jumped from buildings. It was one of the most gruesome things Eddie had seen in his entire life.  _

_ “Yeah, well we’re pretty sure this person’s a telepath, so we’re the ones that are best equipped to deal with them,” Richie replied. _

_ “We should keep moving,” Eddie said, not wanting to waste time. They weren’t sure how fast this would spread.  _

_ Richie looks at him, his eyes hard, filled with something Eddie couldn’t quite decipher. “Wish you’d sit this one out, Slip.” Eddie whips his head around, glaring at the taller man, even though his mask concealed it.  _

_ “I’m the only active hero telepath, Tozier, you kind of need me.” Eddie bit back. He didn’t need protecting, he was strong - hadn’t he proven that enough? He thought that out of everyone, Richie would know that the most.  _

_ Richie stared at him for a moment lips pursed, eyes narrowed. Then he turns, “fine, but I don’t have to like it.” Eddie can’t help his eye roll, sometimes Richie was so petty, but at least he dropped it. _

_ They walked the block until they reached the center, an apartment building, about fifteen stories high if Eddie counted correctly. Bodies littered the street around the building. Eddie could feel his stomach churn, so he made sure not to look at them. With a sweep of his mind, he was sure there were no survivors.  _

_ Richie entered the building first, making sure it was clear of any present dangers - it was, so they all filed in, Betty was last, right behind Eddie, she looked around nervously, a hand covering her mouth in what was maybe shock, or fear - maybe a combination of both.  _

_ Betty made a beeline to the elevator, clicking the up button. While she did that, Eddie busied himself with trying to figure out where the threat was. He closed his eyes, concentrating. The building was empty of life, Eddie couldn’t feel a single soul in any of the apartments. He shifted uncomfortably at the idea of even more dead bodies in those apartments. Tragic, they were all in the wrong place at the wrong time.  _

_ “Anything, Slip?” Richie’s voice fills his subconscious, Eddie opening his eyes slowly. _

_ “No signs of life. Whatever’s causing this is probably at the top.” He replies, eyeing the elevator, Betty was still smashing the up button. _

_ “‘ _ Probably _ ’?” Bill echoed. _

_ Eddie sighed, he knew what he meant. “Definitely at the top, that better?” Bill pursed his lips together, Eddie felt a little bad. They both got a little testy on high stakes missions like this. _

_ “I think this dumb thing is broken,” Betty says with a sad sigh. _

_ “Stairs it is.” Richie laments, casting a look at Titan. “Sorry, man.” _

_ Bill grimaces, looking dubiously at the stairwell. Eddie felt for him, kind of. He wouldn’t want to go upstairs in a full suit of heavy metal armor, either, let alone 15 levels. “Let’s just get this over with,” _

_ “Aye, aye.” Richie replies, opening the door to the stairwell. _

_ Bill led, of course. He was the most durable of them, after all. Harder to hurt. Richie was right behind him. _

_ “I have a weird feeling about this,” Betty says in an almost whisper.  _

_ “Yeah, maybe we should’ve gone first - hope he doesn’t fall, we’d be pancakes,” Eddie says with a chuckle, it was a bad attempt at lightening the mood, one she clearly didn’t care for - she continued to stare up at Richie and Bill, a frown on her lips. “Uh, let’s get going.”  _

_ She and Eddie took up the rear, as per the norm. Eddie slightly in front, Betty behind him. It was harder than he expected, going up these stairs. It was hot and sticky, for one. And the air was… heavy. Eddie was in great shape, he was twenty-four years old, for fuck’s sake, but these stairs were killer. It felt like each step was a lifetime. He didn’t realize that he and Betty were lagging behind the other two heroes so much, but they were. _

_ It took a minute for Eddie to realize he wasn’t hearing Legion’s steps behind him. He pauses, turning his head, ready to ask her if she was okay when the words die in his throat.  _

_ Betty’s looking at the floor, stopped. She lifts her hands slowly, and Eddie could see them coated in her usual acid - that was her second power, besides invulnerability. She could create acid with her hands. Eddie could smell the chemical, it burning his nose hairs, and before he could do anything her hands were on her head - they were on her head, burning through her skull -  _

_ Eddie looks away, he can’t watch, maybe he screams - she certainly does, but he doesn’t know. He didn’t stop her, why didn’t he stop her? He mostly had forgotten her acidic powers, he didn’t think she could be hurt by her own abilities, she never had been before - she’s - she was - invulnerable, that was her thing. And now? Now she’s dead. _

_ Eddie turns away with a grunt, rushing up the stairs to get behind Richie and Bill. He tries not to look at Richie, but in his peripheral, he can see the serious, hard frown on his lips as he looks at Eddie, he lifts a hand, placing it on Eddie’s shoulder - but he brushes it off. They had a mission to do, there wasn’t anything they could do for Betty now.  _

Eddie manages to pull himself back to the present, he has to focus with the Re-Genes around, he can’t get caught daydreaming. He hid as close to the warehouse as he could, he needed to be fast.

Eddie feels them coming long before they arrive, his powers are beyond what they once were. They sent the normal five operatives, with one sentry, watching the door - it was that one’s job to handle henchmen or civilians, so the other five weren’t distracted. 

Eddie doesn’t have a line of sight on the warehouse, purposefully, of course. He doesn’t need to, he can see everything that's happening with his own mind's eye, he can practically count down the seconds before Psychopather makes his move against the Re-Genes - BOOM! There, a large explosion, perfect. Eddie knew he wouldn’t go down without a fight, it’s what he counted on. 

Eddie makes his move, running quickly towards the warehouse, he can feel each one despite their dampeners, four were inside and one stood alone, outside, a bit aways. Eddie cursed, of course, nothing is ever too easy. He could either overload its senses with one big telepathic attack or just hope it would think Eddie was just some henchman, that it wouldn’t shoot him.

Eddie couldn’t take the risk. 

He concentrates on that one’s position, then, like a snap of his fingers, he overloads its mind, Eddie can feel it collapse on itself, good. 

Sneaking into the warehouse was easy, the large door was already opened slightly, a large enough opening for Eddie to slip under easily. Eddie could now hear Psychopather’s howls of rage as he opened fire on the Re-Genes, he was distracted, good. 

See, the reason why he was going through all this trouble was that he really wanted Psychopather’s canon. There was none other like it, made by him before he completely lost his mind. The canon itself was rather large and bulky, but when synced with a telepath, it could watch Eddie’s back so that he didn’t have to. Dr. Uris was going to reverse engineer it, hopefully creating a smaller, sleeker design, rather than the bulky, militaristic look it had right then.

Now all Eddie had to do was find the thing without being seen by Psychopather or the Re-genes. Easier said than done. 

Chaos is the only word Eddie could use to describe the warehouse. Large crates and boxes were scattered and towered, which made for good cover. It was lit blue from the Re-Genes, with green flashes of light coming from whatever Psychopather was using for a weapon nowadays, probably some sort of plasma gun. Eddie winces, do not want to get hit with one of those things, they hurt like a bitch. 

Eddie stays hidden among the towers of containment bins, out of sight and out of the main blast zone. He’s holding his ground, Eddie can tell - his mind is angry, but he’s not panicking. Good, he needed there to be a distraction. 

It didn’t take long, a willowy female Re-Gene covered in black tattoos jumps down from the beams of the ceiling, and right onto Psychopather’s armored back. Psychopather had clearly made some upgrades since Eddie had last fought him, his armor full of hard, metal spikes. The Re-Gene woman is immediately impaled, but Eddie watches as her face doesn’t even twitch, no signs that she had even felt a thing. Eddie’s skin crawls, a little at the thought. 

She makes up for it by using their proximity to her advantage, her arms turning into hard metal spikes themselves, she relentlessly jams them into the armor, over and over again. 

Psychopather yells violently, ramming himself into a bin, trying to get the woman off his back - he fails, of course, but in the process, he loses his canon, a combination of the Re-Gene woman’s attacks and Psychopather’s own stupidity, it slides behind a container about a dozen yards away, and Psychopather is too busy fending off four Re-Gene’s to have the chance to grab it. 

Eddie smiles, perfect. Once He’s confident that most of the Re-Gene’s have their back turned to him, he makes his move, sprinting to where he saw the canon slide. 

There's a prickle in Eddie’s brain, telling him to duck - he listens, ducking and rolling, barely dodging a stray blast from one of the Re-Gene’s, they don’t pay any more attention to him, thankfully, most likely thinking he’s a fleeing henchman. 

He pressed his back against another metal container, breathing in deep, man he was out of shape - it’d been so long since he’d been in the game, he forgot how physical it was. But at the same time, it was thrilling. The sense of danger, outgunning your enemies - Eddie used to love it. 

And maybe he still did.

Regardless, he finally had the canon. He grinned, lifting it up - it was heavy as fuck and almost so hot that Eddie could feel the burning sensation beneath his gloved hands. He needed to get out of here, stat. Who knew how much longer Psychopather could hold the Re-Gene’s off for, he had to go before that happened. 

The hardest part was lugging the thing out of there, he really needed to hit the gym again. All in all, he’d call this mission a success.  
  
  


_ It was seemingly endless, the stairs. Eddie took them one at a time, up, and up, and up. He wants to stop, his mind screaming at him, telling him to get out - but Richie needed him. He was the only telepath at their disposal, he couldn’t let him down. So he keeps climbing until they reach the top.  _

_ Eddie’s head feels like it’s going to cave in any moment, the pressure was stronger - like he was underwater, almost.  _

_ There was something calling to him. He stops - an apartment on the top level. The door was ajar, and for the first time Eddie felt the presence of life in the building. He doesn’t realize how long he stood there until he turns his head, and Richie and Bill are down the hall. Eddie’s heartbeat picks up, he opens his mouth, wanting to call out, to stop them - but Eddie’s mouth felt like it was filled with glue, his throat as dry as a desert.  _

_ And then they turn the corner, and they’re gone.  _

_ He was on his own. _

_ (What was new about that?) _

_ His hand moves without his control, grasping the brass doorknob and pushing the door open, despite Eddie screaming at himself not to - _

He wakes up with a choking gasp, struggling to catch his breath. It takes a few minutes for him to finally breathe, but his heart slows down, the thumping in his ears lessens. Rubbing a hand over his face, he sighs. How long has it been since he had a dreamless night? Definitely not since the Farm, the hair on Eddie’s arm stands up at the thought of that place. Seven years since he had any sort of peaceful sleep.

He didn’t want to be in his body anymore. 

He closes his eyes, letting spinning vertigo take him - opening his eyes he sees the familiar off-white ceiling of Myra’s apartment, his brain no longer buzzing from other people’s thoughts. 

Alright, he had a package to deliver.

The canon was far too large to bring to Joes without raising a considerable amount of eyebrows, so instead, Myra and Dr. Uris were planning on meeting up in an alley near the bar, one that was away from the main road and was likely to be empty. Myra’s body, despite how much training Eddie had done in her body (two years worth), she wasn’t strong enough to lug the canon around by herself, so Eddie had picked up a box with wheels of the bottom and a long handle on top, hopefully, it didn’t look too conspicuous, Eddie didn’t have a lot of options. 

He arrives at the alley earlier than he had intended. It was predictably empty. Eddie sighed in Myra’s body, maybe he was still a little strung out from the dream last night. He turns to one of the windows that look into the alley, using the reflection to fix a straw blond hair on Myra’s head.

He didn’t realize until it was too late that Dr. Uris was now standing behind him, a gun pressed to the back of Myra’s skull. Eddie sucked in a breath, once more cursing the fact he had no telepathic powers in while in Myra’s body. 

Dr. Uris’s face was carefully blank as Eddie slowly raised Myra’s hands, keeping eye contact in the dim reflection of the window. 

“Re-Gene’s stormed Psychopather’s warehouse last night,” he says, “care to enlighten me?” 

Shit, Eddie didn’t think about how Dr. Uris would react - he was mostly betting on it not getting out, usually, Re-Gene’s movements were publicized, especially when they were on U.S. soil. A lot of people were afraid of the amount of power they held - they were different than superhero groups like the Ranger’s, who seemed human in every sense of the word, Re-Gene’s were labeled explicitly not human. 

What was the best play, here? Eddie thought he was friendly enough with the Doctor, they got along well - well, he and Myra got along well, he didn’t know who he was really talking to. Maybe that was his mistake, trusting Dr. Uris to trust Myra. 

Or maybe not - there was a hard look in Dr. Uris’ eyes, but he was just as guarded as Eddie felt. “I called them,” Eddie says as Myra, straight to the point, telling as much of the truth as he can. Eddie can see Dr. Uris’ brow furrow slightly, 

“‘Called them’? How on Earth did you get their number?” 

Myra shrugs, “It doesn’t matter. The point is, I got what we needed.” Dr. Uris purses his lips. “Can you put the gun down, now? Please?” Eddie tries not to roll his eyes as the Doctor takes it away with a wry smile.

“Forgive me?” He says as Myra turns around, facing him. He had a good half a foot on her, so she had to look up. 

“Maybe if you knock a couple thousand off of my boss’ total?” Myra asks sweetly, Dr. Uris barks out a laugh, 

“A deal is a deal, Myra, the suit your boss wants hardly lets me break even as it is.” 

“Thought I’d try,” Myra says with a chuckle. 

“I do apologize, however, it was rash of me to assume anything.” Myra nodded along, even without his telepathy, Eddie was pretty sure Dr. Uris was telling the truth. Maybe he should be madder that Dr. Uris could’ve killed the body he’s spent years fixing, but - Eddie kind of liked Dr. Uris. He was strange, but - real. As real as anybody could be, anyways. Eddie always found himself looking forward to their meetings. 

“Water under the bridge, Dr. Uris,” Myra says with a smile that Dr. Uris returns, clearly relieved. “The canon’s here - just a reminder, my boss wants to keep its function, but they want it smaller.”

“How small are we talking?” 

“Shoulder rig.” 

Dr. Uris whistles low and impressed, “yeah, I can do that.”

“Perfect.” Myra grins.

  
  
  
  


Eddie needed to get out of his apartment for a while, feeling too confined in the small space. He decides to go out as himself, heading down to one of his favorite little nearby diners - it’s a cozy little place, not too upscale or flashy, of course, but not run down and disgusting - Eddie may want anonymity, but he didn’t want to eat in dirty restaurants. 

He was sporting a mild headache, as was the usual. He sat by himself at an empty booth, subconsciously with his back away from the door, nursing a coffee. It had been about a week since he met with Dr. Uris, they agreed on two total weeks for reverse-engineering the canon, and after that, there would only be a few more modifications needed for his suit to be complete. Eddie could feel his heart hammering in his chest at the thought. 

After his suit was finished, he’d have to make his debut. What would that be like? He’d need to find a suitable target - a place that will make headlines, of course, but where - 

“Eddie?” 

The voice startles him so badly he jumps a little, the hot liquid spilling onto his fingers, but Eddie doesn’t even feel it - when was the last time someone called him by that name and not just his identification number? “Uh-” Eddie can’t help but stutter, so caught off guard. Shit, this was not good - he didn’t even hear any straying thoughts -

“Holy shit, it’s really you, Eds.” The voice was so familiar, the sound of it causes blood to rush into Eddie’s head, he forces himself to look up, meeting brown eyes Eddie had committed to memory long ago. 

Richie Tozier. Rush - his ex-partner and the one man he never thought he'd see again.

He really filled out over the last seven years - his shoulders are somehow even broader than they were before, Eddie notices with a dry swallow. He was just as tall, his curly dark hair was slightly shorter than he kept it back then, but it was definitely wilder, now. The most different thing about him was the stubble - not a full-on beard, but it was a good look, Eddie had to admit. Made him look more mature, somehow. And of course, resting on his handsome face were the black-rimmed glasses.

“Uh, I - I don’t,” Eddie can feel his face heat up at his embarrassing stammering. Really, he didn’t use to get this tongue-tied over Richie Tozier of all people, but then again it had been seven long years since he’d actually laid eyes on the man. Sure, he kind of kept up with what he was doing in the papers, the last couple of years since Eddie had escaped, but there was something… awful about watching the news for the purpose of watching Richie. It was weird. So Eddie settled for checking on his well being from time to time - he was still in the Rangers, of course, but he was no longer the Marshal, Bill held that title now. 

Richie slid into the booth across from him, just doing, of course - Richie never asked for permission. “You’re alive.” It’s a statement, not a question. Of course, it’s not. Richie’s looking at him earnestly, eyes wide and mouth agape. He’s tapping his fingers on the table in a familiar, nervous fashion. 

Eddie nodded jerkily, swallowing hard. “Yeah, yeah Rich, I am.” Richie’s lips twitch at the corner, he puts a hand over his mouth for a second, staring at Eddie like he’s afraid he’ll disappear. Well, he already did once, Eddie supposes. 

“That’s - that’s great, Eds.” His voice and eyes are a little watery, Eddie can feel his throat clamp up, he looks away - back down at his coffee, busying himself with cleaning up his spilled mess. Richie noticed, too, “oh shit, sorry - didn’t mean to scare you-” He reached over and grabbed a handful of napkins from the container.

“You didn’t scare me,” Eddie argued, giving Richie a weak glare, Richie snorted,

“Really? Then why’d you jump like, six feet into the air?” 

Eddie made a face, “because you yelled my name when I wasn’t looking - anyone would’ve jumped a little, and it definitely wasn’t six feet, Tozier.” Eddie’s heart didn’t skip a beat when Richie bursts out in laughter, he swears. 

Eddie doesn’t know what to say after Richie calms back down, he’s looking at him again, and Eddie wishes he could read his mind, figure out what he wants from him. “What happened?” Richie says a moment later. It’s a quiet question, but one Eddie’s been dreading. “They - they told me you died. I mean, I saw you -” He frowned, his mouth turned into a grim line, Eddie grimaces at the memory. The memory of shattered glass and the ground and the impact. “I saw what happened. We had to get out, Bill called in a bomb, it was too dangerous. Leveled the whole building, I was too close and didn’t have the armor Bill did, knocked me straight out.” He pauses for a moment like he’s thinking. “And when I woke up, Bill told me you died on the way to the hospital.” 

Eddie frowns at that, “Bill said that…?” He mutters to himself. He and Bill weren’t besties, but he never thought he’d let Eddie get taken - Eddie blinks the thought away, he wasn’t the only telepath the Farm had access to, and Bill wasn’t immune to thought manipulation. 

“They took the bodies of all the dead and cremated everyone in the area - guess they were worried about it being a virus or something.” He shakes his head. He looks sad, heartbroken. His eyes flicker up to Eddies, “how are you here?”

“I did almost die,” Eddie starts. He can hear Richie suck in air, but he ignores it, instead, he stares down at his half-empty coffee. “Just because I never officially joined the Rangers, didn’t mean I didn’t have enemies.” He can see Richie’s brow furrow, “they were waiting for me, I think. Carted me away in that ambulance Bill saw, but they didn’t take me to a hospital. They took me…” Eddie’s breath hitches, fingers twitching around the warm mug. Across from him, he can tell Richie wants to hold his hand - and maybe Eddie wants that too, but. But it’s too much. He takes his hands from around the mug, putting them in his lap instead. “They faked my death, obviously, and when I finally got away I just wanted - I wanted to stay away. From everyone, from the hero world, I guess.” 

Richie’s lips are pursed, “why didn’t you try to, I dunno, contact me? I could’ve helped, Eds.” 

“Don’t call me that,” Eddie mutters, half-heartedly at the old nickname. 

“We could’ve helped - are you, are you still in danger?” Richie asks, bringing his voice down an octave, not that it really helped, Eddie thought with a chuckle, Richie was never the quietest in the room, looks like that fact still holds true. 

“No, I’m fine.” Richie didn’t look too reassured, Eddie sighs, “I can handle things on my own, you know -” he’s kind of posturing, right now - Eddie knows that but Richie has a tendency to treat him like glass - like he could shatter at any moment, and it was beyond annoying. 

“That doesn’t mean you don’t need help,” Richie continued, 

“It wasn’t your problem-” Eddie rubbed an exhausted hand over his face with a sigh. He must have struck a chord with Richie, whose mouth hung open, Eddie grimaced.

“We were-  _ are _ , friends, Eddie. I would’ve done anything for you, you know that?” Richie’s brows are furrowed in anger - or maybe exasperation. He’s frustrated. Eddie can understand that, he thought Eddie was dead. 

“Maybe that’s why I didn’t come to you. Maybe I thought I could handle - everything myself.” He could see Richie start to protest, so Eddie barrels on, “I wanted to protect  _ you  _ for once, Rich - for you to be  _ happy _ .”

Richie pulls back as if Eddie struck him, “you thought I’d be happy in a world without you, Eds?” He sounds so sure of himself that a lump forms in Eddie’s throat. Richie’s eyes are hard in serious behind his thick-rimmed glasses.

There was maybe something between them, seven years ago, Eddie would reluctantly admit. Sure, they flirted - Richie flirted with everyone, Eddie included - and Eddie wasn’t afraid to indulge back then, even if Richie was just doing it for fun - to tease Eddie. He was young and admittedly stupid, preening at the smallest amount of attention that was shown to him. 

But now? He was older, he knew better.

“I wasn’t the only one who died, Richie.” Poor Betty Ripsom - Legion. Eddie tries not to picture her agonized scream as acid melted through her skull.

Richie’s eyes soften, “Of course - I’d never forgotten her, either.” Richie’s eyes flicker back up to Eddie’s, “but she wasn’t  _ you _ , Eds.”

Eddie blinks, not quite sure how to react - what to say or do, for the past two years his social interactions have been pretty much limited to who he takes to as Myra - but that isn’t him, that’s just a mask he uses to protect his identity. What was he supposed to say? Was Richie trying to butter him up - get him to be a hero again? 

“I’m retired, Richie. Slipstream is dead.” He says with such finality, his voice firm and unwavering. He meets Richie’s eyes, but the hero doesn’t look discouraged, not one bit. 

“Fine - Slipstream is dead, okay but Eds, you’re not.” He smiles a bit, “don’t forget that.”

Eddie can’t help but give him a jerky nod. 

“Oh, um - are you still a telepath?” Eddie furrows his brows, surprised at the abruptness of the question. As far as Richie knows, Eddie’s a booster. Once you use the drug and get powers, they don’t just go away, so it’s not as if Eddie could lie to Richie and tell him they went away - and Eddie’s not really sure he even  _ wants  _ to lie to him, he’s looking at him so earnestly. 

“Uh, yeah.” Richie’s eyes sparkle with something, “I mean, I don’t use-” Eddie makes a vague gesture around his head, “them anymore, obviously, but - technically I am.” He finishes with a shrug. 

“I need your help,” Richie says, that smile still on his face. 

“Why?” Uh-oh, what did he just get himself into? Eddie frowns, “I literally just told you I was retired, Richie.” 

Richie holds his hands up placatingly, “I know, I know - just hear me out, I have a friend that recently… had some trouble, and she could use your help.” Friend? The implication immediately sparks a burst of jealousy in Eddie’s chest. Not for the first time, Eddie wonders if Richie’s actually a telepath, he laughs, “no, not like that - she would eat me alive, man.  _ Just  _ a friend.”

Eddie rolls his eyes, ignoring the flush on his own cheeks, he didn’t think he was still that easy to read, even after all of these years. “Right,” he mutters, trying to look less embarrassed. 

It doesn’t work if Richie’s satisfied grin is anything to go by. “I have to call her to make sure she’s okay with it - pretty sure she will be, you’re the only telepath we know.” Richie gives him an apologetic smile as he pulls out his cell, whoever she answers quickly. “Hey, I uh, found someone that can help you with our little issue - um,” he glances at Eddie, who raises a brow. “Eddie - Kaspbrak. Yes, yes  _ that  _ Eddie - well, it’s a long story, but he’s willing to help. Alright, yeah see you soon.” Richie hangs up the phone.

“Well?” Eddie asks, trying not to be concerned about how she seemed to know his name - it wasn’t that weird, he supposed. Most of the time, after a hero (or in Eddie’s case, a high profile vigilante) dies, their names are publicized. 

“She’s cool with it, pretty much willing to try anything.” Richie chuckles. “So, if you have time…?”

Eddie purses his lips, he should say no - this wasn’t in his plan. He wasn’t supposed to reconnect with Richie Tozier - he was  _ dangerous  _ for Eddie, kept him distracted in a way that he shouldn’t have been. Maybe it’s why the Farm found him in the first place - but… that stupid, grin was charming in a way it shouldn’t have been, all crooked and surrounded by stubble. Eddie could never say no to it.

“Fine.” He grits out, after a long, suffering sigh. Richie looks relieved, tension gone from his shoulders. He points at Richie, “but you owe me.” They slide out of the booth, Richie dropping a twenty on the table (he never used to let Eddie pay for anything back then, either. Old habits die hard).

“I’ll buy you dinner, after.” Eddie scoffs,

“What makes you think I want to go to dinner with you?” He fights back a smile that forces its way onto his lips, he’s taken off guard when a pair of strong arms wrap around his shoulders, embracing him. He forgot how touchy-feely Richie was - they both were, back then. Richie’s holding onto him tightly, like he’s afraid that Eddie will fade away the moment he lets go. 

Eddie can feel eyes omg him, they were in the middle of a popular diner, after all - he can hear their questioning thoughts, but he blocks them out. 

“I’ve really missed you, man.” His voice sounds wet, but also like he’s smiling. Eddie can feel his own eyes prickling at the sound, but he swallows it. He wraps his own arms loosely around Richie’s middle back (god, how is he even  _ more  _ in shape than he was seven years ago? Ridiculous). 

“I… I’ve missed you too, Rich.” Richie gives him one last squeeze before letting him go, his grin is less tight, now, like all he had to do was touch Eddie, to make sure he was real, and he was okay. 

“C’mon, can’t keep her waiting.” Eddie thought, like a normal person, he was talking about his friend they were on their way to see - 

“No way.” Eddie crosses his arms, staring unimpressed at a motorcycle. 

“C’mon, Eds!” Richie protests with a whine, “she’s  _ beautiful _ , and it’ll be like, thirty times faster to take her than to take a cab, or whatever.” 

“If you think I’m letting you drive me around on that thing, you’ve lost your fucking mind.” 

They ended up in a cab, despite Richie’s many, many protests. Eddie shouldn’t be too surprised about Richie’s new taste in motor vehicles, he was, in fact, wearing a well-worn leather jacket. Not to mention he’d always been an adrenaline junkie - that was why he gave himself the hero name Rush. 

“Would’ve been way cooler pulling up on my bike, just sayin’.” Richie grumbles as they step out of the cab. Eddie rolls his eyes,

“Last time I saw you drive a motorcycle you went through a window - what the fuck.” Eddie’s jaw visibly drops as he comes to stand next to Richie, realizing exactly where they were. 

It had been seven years, but that wasn’t long enough for him to forget what the Rangers’ Hero headquarters looked like - all sleek glass that glittered in the sunny haze of Los Diablos. Eddie himself had never had an office there, of course, he was a vigilante that never signed on, but he’d been there enough when they needed help with solving a case that was more tailored for Eddie’s powers, or after a big fight when he needed a place to regroup. 

But  _ why  _ was he here? This wasn’t good, not at all. Was this a setup? Did Richie know about the Lady Flame incident from a few weeks ago? They knew he was a telepath, of course, but back when he worked with them he had nowhere near the strength of mind as he did now, he was C grade at best, back then. He could read surface level thoughts and use that for his advantage in a fight, but taking over someone’s body? Impossible. It’s not like Richie was a good liar, either. His poker face was atrocious, there was no way he was setting him up. 

Then why the fuck was he here?

**Author's Note:**

> Phew, I uh, didn't expect to write this much of a first chapter, but here we are! I'm really excited for this, please leave a comment and let me know what you think!


End file.
